


spare the dying

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Force-Sensitive Finn (Star Wars), Hurt/Comfort, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21883657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Spare the Dying: You touch a living creature that has 0 hit points. The creature becomes stable.-Dungeons & Dragons 5E Player's Handbook(Just my reactionary fix-it fic after seeing The Rise of Skywalker.)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	spare the dying

**Author's Note:**

> Saw the movie tonight, came home, and immediately wrote this. Completely self-indulgent, for sure skirts and skips over some important details and consequences but HEYO guess what I don't care. Please everyone write more fix it fic, I am suffering and need to read all of it.
> 
> Unbetaed & written very quickly, will probably maybe check for more typos after I get some sleep but we shall see.

-+-

Ben gives her everything he has, and then he dies, with her kiss and a smile on his lips. Rey gives back as much as she can, just a spark of life, with the last of her energy and all of the hope she can muster.

For a long moment, all is still. A war is raging overheard and Rey doesn’t hear it, she just hears the wind, and she doesn’t see it, she just sees  _ him _ , and she doesn’t feel anything but empty.

Ben takes a breath, and then he takes another. His skin is so cold, and he’s so pale and so still — but he’s  _ breathing _ , his weak heartbeat thrumming beneath her shaking fingertips, and for now, that’s enough.

It’s enough.

-+-

The spark that put breath back in Ben’s lungs staggers her. Rey doesn’t remember how she got him back to the ship -- she must have dragged him, he wouldn’t wake and she couldn’t have carried him. She has a hazy recollection of punching in coordinates, and sinking into the pilot’s seat with a sigh, clutching his hand so tightly her knuckles went white. 

She doesn’t really come back to herself until she lands, stumbling from the ship on shaky knees, her own breath harsh and ragged, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. It feels wrong to leave him, but they both need help.

She manages to put the ship down in a quiet spot, away from the main hanger, away from the celebration and prying eyes. Finn finds her all the same. Rey barely makes it twenty spaces from the ship, crashing through the underbrush and right into her friend.

“Rey?” Finn’s voice is frantic, but his hands are steady, two solid anchors on her shoulders. Rey’s head is swimming, and each breath is ragged and pained, and she thinks Finn’s the only thing keeping her upright. “Rey, are you -- you were --” Finn can’t quite catch his breath, either, his eyes wide and panicked as he searches her face. 

Rey fights for another breath, and then she gasps, “Don’t hurt him.” Her vision’s going gray, fading out at the edges, and she’s listing heavily into Finn, practically melting into him. He adjusts his grip, keeping her upright, and turns his face down towards her.

Rey sees the question on his lips, but he doesn’t ask it -- he doesn’t have to. He just turns towards the ship, his expression hardening. There’s more noise, now, the shuffling of branches, snapping and breaking as someone else hurries through the underbrush.

“Here, take her,” Finn says, and Rey’s world tips sideways as she’s tilted into another steady chest. Rey watches Finn trudge towards the ship, and then her legs finally give out. “Woah, okay.” That’s Poe’s voice in her ear, and his good arm tightening around her shoulders. Instead of trying to keep her on her feet, he sinks down with her, guiding her to half-sit, half-collapse against him. “Hang on, Rey,” Poe says, adjusting his grip to try and make her more comfortable, but it doesn’t matter. Everything hurts. “Just hang on. We’re gonna get you help.”

She can hear birds in the trees overhead, and Finn’s muffled cursing from over by the ship. She closes her eyes.

-+-

There’s another hazy, immeasurable stretch of time. One moment, Rey’s freezing, and in the next she burns. Hands hold her down as she thrashes, and voices call her name. The voices say other things, too, like -- 

“We have to try  _ something _ .” The voice sounds desperate, sounds scared. “We can’t lose her.”

Rey struggles to keep up with the conversation, but it’s no use. She lets out a breath, and feels herself slip back under.

-+-

“Exile,” Poe says, two days later. “It’s the best I can do.”

It’s just the three of them, in the tent -- Rey, still exhausted, but clear and level-headed for the first time in days; Ben, still sleeping but on the mend, his features relaxed, his breaths deep and even; and Poe, standing in the corner, arms folded across his chest, his jaw clenched tight.

Rey’s sitting up in bed, her legs folded as she looks down at Ben, resting in the cot next to hers, the two beds pushed together. The memories are cloudy, but she’s heard it was Finn’s idea, a last ditch gambit in the long hours when no one was sure if Rey or Ben would pull through. It paid off, in the end, and the two of them finally started to improve.

“Thank you,” Rey remembers to say, a long moment later. “I know there are plenty of people who’d rather see him dead.”

“Yeah, well.” Poe huffs out a breath, and Rey mentally adds him to that list. “He saved you, so. There’s that.”

Rey hums, and reaches out, her fingers tracing the scar carved through Ben’s face. It’s such a relief to feel the warmth of his skin, to feel him  _ alive _ , and real, and right here with her. It may be days, still, before he wakes, but Rey doesn’t mind. She’s spent most of her life waiting, she can be patient for a little longer. 

-+-

On the third night, Finn slips into the tent, and sits at the end of Rey’s bed. Rey turns over to face him, and waits for him to speak. Beside her, Ben stirs, and inches closer to her, but does not wake. 

“I felt it,” Finn says, his voice barely a whisper. “When you -- when you  _ died _ , Rey, I felt it.”

For a moment, Rey is quiet, letting the implication sink in. She doesn’t know what to say to Finn -- her best friend, one of her very first friends -- so, she settles for, “I’m sorry.” She offers her hand, and Finn takes it and holds on tight. 

“Don’t be,” Finn says, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m just glad you’re back.” He casts a quick glance at Ben, still sleeping, and then turns back to Rey with a pointed look. “He’s gonna take some getting used to, though.”

Rey smiles, genuine and real for the first time in days. “You know, I’m not sure I’ll be a good teacher, but I can try,” she offers, meeting Finn’s eyes so he’ll know she means it. “If that’s something you want.”

Finn nods, a smile stealing across his face, and Rey feels the thrill of possibility. “Yeah,” he says, nodding again. “I think I’d like that.”

-+-

Ben wakes on the fifth day, with a shudder and gasp. He’s on edge in an instant, fight or flight response kicking in, but Rey moves before he can do anything about it, catching one flailing hand by the wrist, and forcing herself into his line of sight.

“You’re safe,” she says, her voice calm, but firm as she releases his wrist, pressing a hand to his shoulder instead, grounding him. “You’re safe, Ben. It’s alright.”

“Rey?” he asks, and a little piece of her heart breaks at the brokenness of his voice, the look in his eyes as he reaches up to cup her face -- he never thought he’d see her again, yet here she is. “How -- what happened? Why--?” He breaks off, and she can practically see the gears turning in his head as he runs through his memories. “Why did you bring me back?”   


“Why did  _ you  _ bring  _ me  _ back?” Rey asks in return. Ben drops his hand, but only so Rey can help him shuffle to sit, with pillows propping him up, and he doesn’t take his eyes off her, not even for a second.

“You know why,” Ben says, his voice low as he reaches for Rey once more, running a thumb across her cheek. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Rey leans in and kisses him, and Ben responds with a hand on her waist, tugging her closer. For a moment, they’re not in this tent, on this morning -- it’s just the two of them, with their entwined future unfolding before them -- for a moment, Rey sees herself watching twin suns set over the desert horizon, with Ben’s hand in her hand, and a home to call her own.

-+-

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note: While I'm having them exile Ben, Rey would still be free to come and go as she pleases.
> 
> I'm orange-yarn on tumblr, come say hello. It's been a few years since I did Star Wars fic (looking at you, Rogue One), and probably this is the only one I'll do, but I will be reading pretty much everything y'all post over the next couple weeks!


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